“Mr Sean O’Conner, Miss Deborah Teneka would see you now”’ A pretty brunet who was the secretary to the building he just entered addressed him.
“Thank you… Miss?’’ Sean raises an eyebrow, she was fine, too fine in fact and she was smiling at him and he knew those smiles well.
“It’s Lisa”’ She says
“Lisa, nice name” He says smiling back and following her through the door she ushered him to.. before she lets him pass she lips a card into his suit pocket
“I get off by 6pm, call me anytime” she breaths into his ears, Sean smiles
Yes, women loved him and he kinda loved them back. But there was Tasha Williams, his girlfriend and soon to be fiance, soon to be wife, that’s if she stops being childish, expensive and unreasonable.
He sighs “Sure, I will” he taps her hands and then turns away from her as she knocks on the door and tells him to go in
“Mr Sean, I am Deborah Tenaka, how may I help you?” A woman wearing glasses stood up and stretches out her hands towards Sean as he walks into the room going towards her desk and taking her hands in his for a brief shake.
“Hello Deborah, glad for you to see me”
“Sit Mr Sean, over the phone you spoke about a child you believe is in a abusive home, please explain what it is you mean and if you can give me any more information?”
Sean scratches his head,“Actually, I met the child, her name is Kikina, I think she should be three or four years old, I started talking to her and then her mother showed up and she was mad, like really mad”
“That would because you are a stranger talking to her kid, any mother would be on a defensive”
“Especially when I introduced myself as the school’s supplier and that I had almost ran down her daughter who was playing in the driveway? I mean the kid admitted to me that she didn’t have any friends and she was sad, that could either mean that whatever that is going on with that kid is affecting her psychologically to have her withdraw into herself and she also said that children bullied her “
“why?”
“I didn’t get her to tell me, her mother showed up”
“Okay, was that all?’’
“’No, she came up aggressively, she was angry and told me no one will take her daughter from her and the kid looked so scared that got me worried, I had to calm the situation but she kept saying you… you won’t take my kid from me and pushing the kid behind her and the poor girl was staring at me I don’t know with sadness or fear, but there was something totally off and it irked me” Sean finishes, Deborah sighs
“There is not enough information for us Sir to investigate, was there bruises, did she manhandle the kid in front of you?”’
“No but, look, I have never being within the walls of social services and for me to come here it’s because I think that kid is in an abusive home either from her mother or father and it didn’t sit well seeing her sad, withdrawn and the way her mother acted with me. I mean she didn’t know me but I felt she hated me… I could feel it and I didn’t know why. Look, I know it’s a long short but if you would pay them a visit just to make sure, it would put my mind at ease and like you said, it may be nothing but it is better to be safe than sorry and hear on the news about a kid beaten or worse… who knows”
“Fine, we would pay them a visit, do you have an address, theirs not yours?” she smiles
“Oh no, but I can give you the school’s and I don’t know the mother’s name just the daughter’s, Kikina… please when can this be done?”
“Tomorrow, I would keep you updated”
“Actually, I would like to be there would that be okay?”’
“Erm sure, why not”’
That was about two days ago, when he had gotten the call from Deborah that she was heading to the school today he had put his supervisor in charge and driven down , they met at the parking lot and walked in together, they asked him to wait.
“I would like to have a few words with the mother and child first, I like to get a feeling of things to know how they react to questions posed at them, it helps me better decipher without distractions on their parts”
“Sure why not” he waited.
It took less than thirty minutes when some lady had come to call him
“Miss Deborah says you can come in now”’ she had said beckoning him to follow her, when they reached the door, he noticed it was a library.
As soon as he was ushered in, he saw her, Kikina’s mother and when he heard her last outburst Sean couldn’t hold back..
“Me! I was the one who reported to child services” he says going completely into the room
“You Bastard!!” she had said
“’Wow, such language in front of a what? three or a four year old, is that even appropriate?” Sean turns to Deborah
“Look ma’ám, for the sake of the kid would you refrain from using strong languages?” Deborah turns to Megan, but Megan’s eyes were bloodshot
“How dare you? How dare you?’’ she says pointing at him, Kikina hands is clasped in hers
“You have no right, no bloody right to get into my life and want to take my child away from me” she spat
Sean scoffs, for a pretty woman she was too angry, she has terrible tempter
“Take? No ma’ám I don’t intend to but please kindly explain to me, to us, why your daughter is shaking like a fig leaF beside you?”’
“Ït’s because you all are scaring her”
“No because she is afraid of you” Sean says “I know it would be the most wicked thing to take a child away from her parents but it would be more evil to leave a child with parents who make her feel threatened with living”’
“You have no idea how we have been living, or surviving, all of a sudden you care?” Megan flares
Sean is confused, why does it seem as though she is saying one thing and meaning another?
“Look madam i obviously don’t know how you have been living nor do I care”’
“”Exactly!” Megan throws her hands up cutting him off, Sean frowns
“But I care enough for that little girl who seems she deserves better”
“’You don’t care, you never did, you don’t care for Kikina, you never did, if not you wouldn’t have-‘’
“’Madam, this is inappropriate please” Deborah cuts her off, they were raising their voices, was it just her or she felt that there was some bad blood between them, have they met before?
“Madam, calm down please, take a sit and let us talk like adults, I am the Child services worker and I have to be convinced that what Mr Sean here has reported is not what it is… and you have to convince me that what he is saying is untrue and I have to talk to Kikina too. I am just doing my job and all this shouts and banter would lead us to nowhere . Please calm down and let us talk. So I will ask you some questions and I need you to answer me honestly and if I detect any dishonesty I would probe further”
“You have no damn right over her, you never will”’Megan points to Sean, her eyes in slits
“Are you kidding me! I am not after your daughter. See Miss Deborah, she is unstable, I don’t understand half of what she is even saying…” he says shaking his head, Debeorah shakes her head too
“Mr Sean I would please ask that you don’t incite her more or indulge her or I would have to ask that you wait outside“
“Fine” he says sitting down. He stares at Megan and her gaze is all daggers
He felt uncomfortable…. he has never met her before in his entire life and yet she seemed to have this certain hate for him. Why does she feel threatened by him, or is her husband the abuser, did he abuse her and their child, is that why she felt he was a threat to her kid, but he wasn’t doing anything but her reaction despite his apology threw him off guard and what with her constant.. ‘You won’t take her from me’ talk?”